In Hopeless, Sky left no secret unearthed, no feeling unshared, and no memory forgotten, but Holder’s past remained a mystery.

Still haunted by the little girl he let walk away, Holder has spent his entire life searching for her in an attempt to finally rid himself of the crushing guilt he has felt for years. But he could not have anticipated that the moment they reconnect, even greater remorse would overwhelm him…

Sometimes in life, if we wish to move forward, we must first dig deep into our past and make amends. In Losing Hope, bestselling author Colleen Hoover reveals what was going on inside Holder’s head during all those hopeless moments—and whether he can gain the peace he desperately needs.

The eternal questions in life: Paper or plastic? Pepsi or Coke? DC or Marvel? Which was better, Hopeless or Losing Hope? It’s a struggle I’m facing at the moment and it ain’t easy, folks. I’m going to go out on a limb here and calling it folks…. Losing Hope beats Hopeless. But there’s one caveat, you have to have read Hopeless first to understand the logic of my choice. Here’s why:

Characters

Dean Holden was amazing in Hopeless. We saw a conflicted and complex character fall hopelessly (see that? I used the title again in my review! Second review in a row – I’m on a roll, baby!) in love with Sky. In Losing Hope, we find out exactly when it was that our boy fell in love with Sky… and how! So many nuances are added in and facts are unveiled that just jump up and smack you across the face to say, “these two kids were meant to be together!”

In Hopeless, Sky was the broken girl who needed mending. But we’re shown in Losing Hope that there was so much that needed fixing on Holden’s side. Sky helps Holden more than we ever realized she had in the first book. And yet again, she proves how incredibly strong she is.

My only itsy-bitsy, tiny complaint is that because this book is written from Holden’s POV, we miss out on Sky’s witty voice and you miss her personality a bit in the conversations she has with Holden. I almost pulled out my copy of Hopeless to read along with this book just to fill in the blanks on the conversations… but ultimately I’m too lazy to go and get the book.

Story / Tempo

This book is told differently than the first book which makes it stand out on its own entirely. Ms. Hoover uses journal entries to tell portions of Holden’s side of the story. I think it’s a great way to write a male character because honestly, how much thinking on the spot does a guy do when he’s in the moment. Guys are pretty much the “do-ers” in a relationship. Us girls are the ones always over analyzing every tiny moment. But the journal entries are an awesome opportunity for Holden to put his opinion out there. And trust me, he’s not exactly writing in a diary – he’s acting like he’s doing something else entirely so it seems to be more manly of an exercise than just writing in a diary would normally be (no offense to you 21 year old males out there writing in diaries).

Losing Hope is another case of a book that released in ebook format first and will be released in paperback later. I’m seeing this a lot lately and I keep meaning to research why publishers are doing this. Things that make you go hmmmm….

Either way, I picked up this series based on friends’ reviews and YOU really need to read this series, too. I know you’ll be seeing it up near the top of a A LOT of blogger’s top 10 lists come the end of the year. I know both Losing Hope AND Hopeless will be on my list(s).

Photo credit: Jen Sterling

About the Author:

Colleen Hoover is the New York Times bestselling author of Slammed, Point of Retreat, Hopeless, and This Girl and Losing Hope. Colleen lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys.

About Kristin

Kristin has to ensure she gets her minimal requirement of "happily ever after" books in between those books that contain cliffhangers and never-ending story arcs. It's for her family's sake. When not reading, she's homeshooling her 10-year old son, watching cartoons on TV, or taking a nap.

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